Stay With Me
by hana-to-mame
Summary: The S.S. Tipton docks in Kinkow for a week.  Cody spends a lot of time with King Brady.  Slash.
1. More Twins in the Castle

**Stay With Me (a Suite Life/Pair Of Kings crossover)**

**Rated: T**

**Pairing: Brady/Cody**

**Summary: The S.S. Tipton docks in Kinkow for a week. Cody spends a lot of time with King Brady. Slash.**

**A/N: This is my first crossover story. I'm not sure how good it's going to be, but I'm going to try it and if it ends up stinking like a steaming pile I'll scrap it lol. But if you enjoy it I'd really appreciate some reviews. The idea came to me when my mind was running wild trying to come up with obscure pairings :D**

**Chapter 1 - More Twins in the Castle (Posted 23 April 2011)**

"I'm so excited!" Cody said loudly as they prepared to depart the S.S. Tipton.

"Why?" Zack asked, crossing his arms. "It's just some stupid island."

"It's not a stupid island!" Cody said, deeply offended. "You just have no respect for foreign cultures."

"I have respect for foreign women, does that count?" Zack raised his eyebrows.

Cody rolled his eyes. "No."

"Ok." Zack shrugged and walked by his frustrated twin.

"Oh, Cody, there you are!" Bailey ran over to him.

"Yes, exactly where I said I would meet you." Cody said under his breath.

"What was that?" Bailey asked innocently.

"N-nothing." Cody stuttered.

"Are you ready to tour one of the most beautiful tropical islands on the planet?"

"Absolutely." Cody said with a genuine smile. He was looking forward to meeting the natives.

"I'm so excited that you won the contest to meet the Kings! You are so lucky! And I'm so lucky that you picked me to be your guest."

"Hah. Yeah." Cody turned away awkwardly. He'd been feeling very confused about Bailey lately. He just felt so crowded and _annoyed_ by her lately. But he was afraid. He'd broken up with her once before, and missed her terribly. Would that happen again? Or was he really feeling like their relationship had come to a standstill. He just didn't like her anymore.

No. It wasn't that he didn't like her. He loathed her. Every giggle was like a cheese grater grinding relentlessly against his brain. And every angry sigh was like a master chef dragging a cleaver across his head. He couldn't stand the sight of her. Every time she was near him, he just wanted to beg Zack to let him stuff his head in the blender and press every single button.

"Well, shall we be on our way?"

"Sure." Cody feigned enthusiasm.

Bailey linked her arm through Cody's and walked him off the ship. Mr. Moseby, Zack, and Woody were all waiting for them.

"Come on, Cody," Moseby urged him, "you don't want to be late, it's very rude."

"Yeah Cody, let's go!" Bailey screeched.

"You know what..." Cody took in a deep breath. "I can't do this. You can't come with me, Bailey."

"What? Why not?"

"You... you just can't."

"Cody Martin, I demand you tell me this instant!" she stamped her foot and glared at him.

"You annoy me to no end." Cody said lowly. "Your voice makes me wish I was dead and your face makes me wish I was suffering some horrible torture in an uncharted land of uncivilized baboons. I can't stand you anymore."

"Cody! How could you say that to me?"

"I'm sorry, I've been meaning to tell you..."

"Tell me what? That you all of a sudden hate me?"

"It isn't all of a sudden." Cody corrected. "We've been growing apart for a very long time, Bailey. I'm sorry it had to come out like this, but I just can't handle you anymore."

"Fine. If that's how you're going to be, then I never want to see you again." She stormed off, shaking her head and muttering to herself.

"Wow." Zack said. "You sure showed her." He held out his fist.

Cody, actually knowing what the gesture meant after all the times he got it wrong, bumped his fist against Zacks. "Yeah, I just couldn't take it any longer. I wanted to be more... polite about it, but it was just so difficult to keep inside."

"I'm proud of you, buddy." Zack said.

And even though Cody felt a little bad about springing this on Bailey, he felt good. He felt free. And, seeing as he hadn't felt that way in an extremely long time, he smiled broadly.

"Well," Moseby said, "now that you've got that taken care of, who are you going to take to meet the Kings?"

"Pick me!" Zack and Woody said at the same time.

Zack looked at Woody. "Why would he pick you? You only want to go for the banquet."

"Well why would he pick _you_?" Woody retorted. "You only want to go for the girls."

Cody sighed. "I'll think of a number between one and fifty, whichever of you is the closest can come with me."

"Eight!" Woody yelled.

"I haven't thought of a number yet!" Cody said. He scrunched up his face for a minute before nodding. "Ok, now i have it. Zack, you first."

"Um... thirty two." Zack said dully, as if he really didn't care.

"Ok, now you, Woody."

"Uh... um... well... oh, I am _not _good under pressure!"

"Just pick a number!" the twins yelled at him.

"Two hundred sixty seven!"

The Martin boys just stared at him with looks of utter confusion on their faces.

"I said between one and fifty." Cody said, wondering why he even bothered.

"You put me on the spot." Woody pouted.

"Well, I guess that means Zack is going with me. Woody, you go watch Sesame Street and learn how to count." Cody said as he started to walk away. "Come on, Zack, we have to meet our escort."

"Ok, fine." Zack caught up to his brother, pretending to not be interested in visiting the castle even though he was dying to see it.

"You must be Cody." a big, tall man said with a booming voice.

"Um, yes, that's me. Cody Martin. Are you Mason?"

"I sure am. I'm here to escort you back to the castle. This is your guest?"

"Unfortunately." Cody rolled his eyes. "This is my twin brother, Zack."

"Ah, another set of twins, how delightful." Mason said with a hint of sarcasm before leading them toward the castle.

X

"Welcome, Zack and Cody, to the Kings' castle. The heart of Kinkow." Mason said, taking them inside.

"Wow." the brother awed at the sight.

"This castle is amazing!" Cody admired.

"Yeah, but where are the babes?" Zack rubbed his hands together.

"The Kings..." a fair-skinned boy yelled as he jumped into the room.

"...have arrived!" a darker boy yelled as he jumped in after the first.

"Your Majesties..." Cody bowed.

"Oh," the dark one said, "there's no need to bow before our amazing, majestic, awesome, greatness."

"Unless you want to." the light one said.

"You guys are the Kings?" Zack asked.

"Yep." they said together.

"I'm Boomer."

"And I'm his twin brother, Brady."

"That's so cool!" Cody said. "I'm Cody, and that's _my_ twin brother, Zack."

"Sweet, you guys must be identical." Brady said.

"Yep." Zack nodded.

"We're fraternal." Boomer said, as if it was a giant secret.

Cody looked at both of them. "I gathered that."

"Well, welcome to our castle." Brady said as he walked around with his arms extended, showing off his castle. "How long are you staying here?"

"A whole week." Cody said eagerly.

"Awesome." Boomer and Brady said at the same time.

Brady stepped up behind them and put an arm over each of their shoulders. "We're going to have so much fun."


	2. Hiccups

**Chapter 2 - Hiccups (Posted 27 April 2011)**

**A/N: Wow! Three reviews! I'm so happy, thanks guys :D**

"My Kings," Mason announced, "the welcome banquet is in just a few short hours. You should be preparing for..."

Brady held his hand up. "Now, now, Mason. You just said we have _hours_ until the welcome feast. I think we should spend it showing our guests around. Don't you agree, Boomer?"

"Absolutely." Boomer nodded.

Mason sighed. "Fine, just don't get into any trouble."

"Sweeeeeet." Zack said as Mason left. "We're in a castle!"

"Thank you, Captain Obvious." Cody said.

"Anytime, bro." Zack said proudly.

"Yo, we have a pool table in our room." Boomer said. "You guys wanna check it out?"

"Sure!" Zack followed Boomer as he led them up to the Kings' bedroom.

That left Brady standing with his arm around Cody's shoulder. He coughed nervously and removed his arm. "You wanna go with them?"

"I... I don't know..." Cody was starting to think maybe this wasn't such a good idea. He'd imagined the Kings as proper gentlemen who would be able converse about politics. He'd _hoped_ the Kings were those kinds of Kings. He had no idea they would be teenagers like himself. "I'm not very good with... things that require strength and hand-eye coordination..."

"Oh, it's ok, I'll go easy on you." Brady insisted. "But not too easy, I'm the King, I have to win."

Cody cracked a smile at the joke and shrugged as he followed Brady. It couldn't be that bad.

X

It was that bad. Cody had no clue what he was doing. He understood the rules, but actual gameplay totally fried his brain.

"Way to lose, dude." Zack grumbled.

"I'm sorry." Cody sighed. He'd been on Zack's team, against Brady and Boomer. "I have no clue what I'm doing."

"How about another round?" Boomer asked.

"Um... I think I'll sit this one out." Cody said as he left the room.

"Cody, wait!" Zack said. "Now what are we going to do. This game doesn't work for three people. I'd better go talk to him."

"Why don't I... see if I can talk to him?" Brady suggested. "I convinced him to come up here and play, so I feel kinda bad..."

"Ok..." Zack said, a little confused. He was always the one who talked Cody out of his stupors, so it was odd to let someone else go in his place. Especially someone they'd only just met a few minutes ago.

"Cool," Boomer said, "you go, and me and Zack will keep playing."

Brady left them to their game and ran after Cody. He found him sitting outside. "Hey, Cody."

"Oh. Hi, Your Majesty."

"You can call me Brady." He sat next to Cody. "What are you looking at?"

"The sky. You have a very unique perspective of it from this island."

"We do? I always just thought it looked the same everywhere you went. Sky is just sky." Brady looked up, trying to find anything that would catch his attention. He looked back at Cody who was now staring down at the ground. "You look kinda bummed for someone who gets to spend a week in a castle."

"Yeah, I'm sorry."

"You... wanna talk about it? I mean... I know you don't know me that well, but..."

"It's nothing major." Cody said softly. "I just... I broke up with my girlfriend right before we came to the castle."

"Oh. And... you miss her?"

"No. That's the problem. I don't miss her at all. I don't feel bad about what I said to her. I just feel like I wasted so much time thinking I was going to spend the rest of my life with her and now..."

"Now you're afraid you're never gonna find anyone."

Cody blinked. "Yeah."

"Cody, I don't know if this is going to cheer you up, but you are on a tropical island just full of hot chicks. Go find one and... you know..."

"I can't do that. I'm not that type of guy."

"Wow."

"I know, it's lame, but..."

"No, it's not that, it just that every single girl out there spends her whole life trying to find a guy who's 'not that type' of guy. But when they find them, they don't look twice."

"Yeah. I've tried to just go out there and be a player, like my brother, but that's not me. I can't do it. I'm not saying he's a bad person for it, we're just different in that respect."

"I understand, you know. About not being 'that type' of guy. I don't want to sound personal, but I'm like that too. I can't just look at a pretty girl and want to jump into bed with her right away. I mean sure, I can find them attractive and stuff, like any other guy, but I don't automatically want to... _act."_

"Thanks, Brady." Cody said. "I'm sorry I made you come out here and talk about this..."

"No, it... it's ok." Brady stood, and then held out his hand to help Cody up. "It was... sort of nice to just be able to sit and talk to someone."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"But, you're the King. You have everything you could ever want here."

"I guess so... but I don't have many friends. There's Boomer of course, and Mason and his daughter, Mikayla. And cousin Lanny. But other than that... it gets pretty lonely sometimes."

"Wow. I never would have thought a King would feel that way."

"Well... I've never told anyone that I do..." Brady said worriedly.

"Your secret's safe with me."

"Thanks."

"No problem."

X

After spending most of the time talking to Brady, Cody really felt... something. He couldn't place it or name it, but he felt close to the King. It was like an instant connection that Cody just couldn't ignore.

When it came time for the banquet, Brady took his seat and asked Cody to sit next to him. Shyly, Cody accepted and took a seat to his left since Boomer was to his right.

"Hey..." Mikayla walked in. "Who is this, and why is he in my seat?"

"Hello, beautiful." Brady winked at her. "Cody, this is Mikayla, she's Mason's daughter. Mikayla, this is Cody Martin, the guy who won the contest to stay in the castle."

"Oh, so you're Cody." Mikayla smiled. "It's very nice to have you as a guest. But, you're kind of in my spot..."

Brady frowned at her. "He's a guest, Mikayla, he can sit wherever he wants."

"Why would he want to sit next to you?"

"Because I asked him to."

"Why?"

"Because we're friends."

"But..."

Cody stood. "You know, I really don't mind moving if sitting here is going to cause a problem."

Brady pulled him back down quite forcefully. "No, Mikayla can find another seat." Then he looked at her and said, "You hate sitting next to me. So why do you want to all of a sudden?"

"I'm used to it by now."

"Well Cody wants to sit here and he's only going to be in the castle for a week, so can you just sit with your dad for now or something?"

She narrowed her eyes and spun dramatically before walking to sit next to Mason.

"Wow." Cody said, somewhat frightened. "She's really beautiful."

"Yeah... I used to think so too."

Cody glanced at him but before he could say anything, Mason was stood and started giving a speech about having guests in the castle.

Everyone ate lots of food and talked very loudly. Mikayla stared daggers at Cody through the entire event.

Cody leaned over and whispered to Brady, "I don't think Mikayla likes me very much."

"She doesn't like anyone very much."

"No, I mean... she's been giving me the death glare all evening."

"Really?" Brady looked over and jumped a little in his seat when he saw her expression. "Ok, that is one scary face."

"I told you."

"Hey, don't worry about it. I always thought she was a little crazy."

X

When the meal was over, Brady took Cody to the beach.

Cody was in awe of the sight before him. "The water is so pretty. I've never seen the ocean look this amazing."

"I thought you'd appreciate that." Brady smiled.

Cody blushed and walked closer to the water. It flowed in and out, soaking his shoes numerous times. "The water is nice."

"Be careful," Brady warned as Cody went a little farther, "the waves can get pretty strong..."

Just as Brady said this, a large wave crashed on the shore, knocking Cody backwards and causing him to start laughing. He laughed so hard he got the hiccups. He quickly brought his hands to his mouth in an effort to stop the hiccuping, but even though he managed to get rid of the sound he could still feel his body jumping with each spasm.

Brady walked over and stuck out his hands.

Cody looked cautiously at him. He slowly removed his hands from his face, hoping no hiccup would come. He grabbed onto Brady's hands and felt himself be pulled up. And then he hiccuped, making him blush again.

Brady just laughed cutely.

"You guys!" Mikayla was heard yelling from farther down the beach.

Cody jumped, startled yet again by her horrifying expression, and pulled Brady closer as if to try and hide behind him.

Brady leaned close and whispered in Cody's ear, "I bet your hiccups are gone."

Cody waited a few seconds and then laughed nervously. Mikayla had scared the hiccups right out of him!

"What are you doing out here?" Mikayla asked, putting a hand on her hip. "It's getting late, you need to go inside."

"Oh, Mikayla, can't we just have a little fun?" Brady asked.

"No."

"Five more minutes." Brady bargained.

"No, go inside _now._"

"If you give us five more minutes, I promise I'll behave for the whole day tomorrow."

Mikayla squinted. "You promise?"

"I promise." Brady raised his eyebrows. He'd just made her an offer she couldn't refuse.

"Fine. Five minutes. But if I come back here and you're not leaving, you'll be sorry." She pointed at him stiffly before stalking away.

"I don't like her." Cody said once she was out of sight.

"You get used to it." Brady said in a soft voice.

"Um... thanks... for showing me this. And helping me up." Cody said nervously.

Brady looked at him for a second before moving in closer and giving him a light kiss on the cheek.

Cody looked shocked as he brought his hand up to his face to touch his cheek. "Wh-what was that for?"

"That..." Brady looked confused and slightly panicked. "That is how we say 'you're welcome' here in Kinkow."

"Oh." Cody said, mostly relieved, but somewhat disappointed. "Ok." He looked down and saw they still had their hands clasped together. He let go quickly and stepped away. "Sorry."

"It's ok."

"I... think we should be getting inside. I really don't want to be out here when Mikayla comes back."

"Yeah, me either." Brady agreed with a small laugh. He watched Cody's face take on looks of happiness and nervousness. He liked those looks. They were different. All the faces in Kinkow looked serious, but Cody just looked like a regular person. A comfortable person. He liked that. And he wanted to see more.


	3. Cody Finds A Book

**Chapter 3 - Cody Finds A Book (Posted 30 April 2011)**

"Do you have a bathroom I could use?" Cody asked when they got back up to the Kings' bedroom.

"Yeah," Brady pointed behind him, "it's right back there."

Cody thanked him and went into the bathroom. He relieved himself and saw a giant book stashed aside of the toilet. "Hey Brady, what's this?" he asked, carrying the book out of the bathroom.

Brady turned and said, "Oh that? That's a book Mikayla gave us... it's all about Kinkow. It's supposed to have all the history and customs and stuff like that."

"Cool." Cody's eyes lit up. Brady couldn't help but stare. Cody chuckled lightly. "What are you looking at?"

"You."

Cody went red again. "Hah. Why? I'm nothing special."

"That's not true. That face you made was adorable."

"It was not." Cody was beginning to feel extremely flustered and embarrassed.

"Yes. It. Was." Brady arched his eyebrows to drive his point.

"Now that's a cute face." Cody said.

Brady blinked. Had he been moving closer to Cody this whole time? They were only a few inches apart now. "Um... thanks. You can borrow the book if you want."

"Really? Thanks!"

"No problem.'

Cody almost expected another kiss, but realized Brady probably felt embarrassed about it.

"So..." Cody said quietly, "where do uh... I sleep?"

"Sleep?"

"Yeah. It's getting late and... I'm sort of wiped out from... everything that happened today."

"I understand. Um... I don't know..."

"We're in a _castle_." Cody said with a smirk. "You can't tell me there's nowhere for me and my brother to sleep."

"Well... there was a fire in the guards' quarters... so our entire local-based army is staying in all of our guest rooms..."

Cody's lips parted in a partial-teeth smile and he giggled.

"What?" Brady asked, feeling self-conscious.

"Nothing. It just... sounded cute to hear you talk like a real King."

"I am a real King."

"I know, but I've never heard you say anything like that before."

"You've only known me for a day."

"Oh yeah." Cody thought out loud. "It feels like longer than that..."

"Yeah... so, anyway... there's still one more thing I want to show you."

"What is it?"

"Here," Brady held out his hand, which Cody grabbed without hesitation, "it's this way." He took Cody out to the balcony. "This is it."

"Oh my goodness." Cody said in wonderment. "This is spectacular."

"It is. This is one of the first things I noticed about Kinkow. I come out here a lot. To think, you know?"

"Yeah, I know." Cody said. "This island is so beautiful, I can hardly believe it. I've seen so many exotic places, but this is by far the most extraordinary."

"I'm glad you think so." Brady touched Cody's arm, making Cody turn and give him a timid smile.

"And... um... I think you're... really nice and... I'm really happy that I was able to meet you."

"I'm really happy I met you too."

"Pshht. I'm just a regular person."

"No you're not. You're a really interesting person."

"How can you know that? We've had one real conversation."

"Oh yeah, I forgot. Now I see what you mean about feeling like you've known me for more than a day."

"You know..." Cody leaned a little closer, "in this dusky sunlight, you kind of... glow."

"Glow? Like Edward Cullen?" Brady teased.

Cody giggled loudly. "No, I just meant... it's very becoming of you."

"You look good too, though. Especially with your blond hair, you look like a model." Brady's face was close enough that Cody could feel his hot breath against his lips.

"Um... uh..." Cody stuttered for a few seconds, trying to figure out what to say. "I..."

Suddenly they heard voices behind them. Their hands came apart and they turned to see Zack and Boomer walking in.

"Hey Boom, Zack." Brady said.

"Sup." Zack responded.

"Yo, we were having so much fun pranking Lanny." Boomer laughed boisterously. "But then Mikayla came in and spoiled everything."

"Yeah, me and Cody were at the beach and she made us come inside." Brady complained.

"So, what are we gonna do now?" Zack asked.

"Now, we have to go to sleep." Brady said.

"Awwwwww." Zack and Boomer wined.

"Since when do you want to go to sleep at this hour?" Boomer asked.

Brady sighed. "Since I promised Mikayla I would behave tomorrow..."

Boomer was so surprised. "You did what!"

"I'm sorry." Brady laughed defensively. "We just wanted to stay outside a little longer and I said it before I could think about it."

"Fine, I'll go to sleep. But don't expect me to behave."

"So, where's our room?" Zack asked.

"Oh, yeah... heh heh..." Brady said. "Funny story about that... You see, all our rooms are occupied by soldiers right now..."

"They're still there?" Boomer asked.

"Yeah, their quarters haven't been completely rebuilt. So Zack and Cody will have to stay in here with us."

"I call sofa!" Zack shouted

"But then where will I sleep?" Cody asked.

"Cody," Zack said in a scolding voice, "there's a perfectly good floor here."

"The floor...?" Cody pouted.

"Or the pool table." Boomer suggested.

"Boom, we can't make him sleep on the pool table..." Brady said.

"Hey," Cody said gratefully, "as long as it's not the floor, I'll take it."


	4. Cody's Struggle

**Chapter 4 - Cody's Struggle (Posted 1 June 2011)**

**A/N: I'm baaaaaaaaaack! Aren't you glad? I am. I keep having this dream that the Dylan and Cole Sprouse come to my church...  
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Cody woke up before anyone else. He kicked off the blanket that Brady lent him and stood up. His back was a little stiff, but other than that the pool table had been perfectly comfortable. He didn't know when anyone else would be waking up, so he decided to do some reading.

Grabbing the book, he hopped back up on the pool table and sat right in the middle.

Brady and Boomer woke up about an hour later. Cody was halfway through the book.

"Morning, Cody." Boomer said.

"Morning, King Boomer."

Boomer left the room. Brady got dressed and walked over to Cody.

"Hey, Cody." he leaned against the pool table.

"H-hey, Brady."

"Holy cow! Did you really read all of that?"

"Well... yeah... Didn't you read it?"

"Of course I... read the first few words and then got distracted by something more appealing."

Usually, Cody was annoyed by statements like these. But there was something about the way Brady said it that just made Cody want to smile. "I... I think it's really interesting. To learn about your island's history. It's fascinating."

"It is?"

"Yeah. So, what's on the agenda for today?"

"Hmm." Brady thought for a moment. "Well, I was thinking we could have breakfast together. Then I have some things to take care of this morning, since I promised Mikayla and everything, but then we can hang out some more... if you want."

"I'd like that."

"Me too."

"Um... Brady?"

"Huh?"

"Do you... _like_ Mikayla?"

"Like her?" Brady paused. "I used to but... lately she's just been annoying me."

"I know what's that like." Cody rolled his eyes.

"I bet you do. So, Breakfast?"

"Ok." Cody grinned and jumped off the pool table. Brady put an arm around Cody's shoulders and walked him out of the bedroom.

Cody felt a little awkward through breakfast because Brady refused to talk business until they were finished. He wouldn't let anyone interrupt them.

"So, what do you like to do for fun?" Cody asked. He was sitting across from Brady.

"Hmm." Brady thought. "My and Boomer like to get into trouble a lot."

Cody laughed. "So do Zack and I."

"I think it's a twin thing."

"Definitely. I mean, siblings are close, but I think twins are just so in sync, trouble can't be avoided."

"Yeah. No one seems to get that."

"Except us."

Brady leaned forward and looked at the food Cody had on his plate. "You didn't get any grapefruit."

"I didn't see it on the buffet table..."

"Here," Brady stabbed his fork into his grapefruit and held a piece up to Cody's mouth, "taste it."

Cody's eyes opened wide and he blushed deeply. "I can't..."

"Come on, just try it." Brady pushed the fruit against Cody's lips. "It's really delicious."

Cody's lips parted and Brady nudged the fruit into his mouth. He chewed it slowly, swallowing the sweet juice as Brady watched him intently. "It is delicious."

"I told you so."

"Um... yeah."

Brady blinked and sat back, taking another bite of his food. He kept using the same fork he'd just fed Cody with. "Anyway, for fun around here, Boom and I usually like to prank Lanny. He's hilarious when he freaks out."

"Lanny is your cousin?"

"Yeah. Nobody around here seems to like him, but I don't think he's so bad."

"Is any of your other family on the island?"

"Nah." Brady said. "My parents died a while ago, and Boom and I lived with our aunt and uncle until we were brought back to Kinkow, but they didn't come with us."

"So you really are alone." Cody frowned.

"Pretty much."

"I'm sorry."

"But you're here, and I like being around you."

"I'm only here for a few more days, though."

"That's ok." Brady smiled. "We'll spend as much time together as possible. And then... maybe you could come back and visit once in a while?"

"Definitely!"

"Good. I'll even have my hot air balloon bring you."

"Hot air balloon?"

"Yeah, it's totally awesome. Plus it's the usual mode of transportation to and from Kinkow. I'm surprised your cruise ship made it, boats and planes usually have a really tough time getting here."

"I guess I'm really lucky then."

"We're both lucky."

X

After breakfast ended, Brady took Cody back up to his room and hugged him awkwardly. "I'll see you later, then?"

"Sure." Cody agreed gladly.

Brady patted him on the shoulder and left the room.

Cody went back to reading his book. He'd finished the whole thing by the time Zack woke up.

"Morning' Codes." Zack yawned.

"Yep."

"Did I miss breakfast?"

"Uh huh."

"Hey, is something wrong?"

"No..."

"Is this about Bailey?" Zack asked, not believing him.

"No." Cody shook his head.

"Bro, I know when something's up with you. You wanna tell me what's up?"

"I don't know..."

"Come on, man. I know I may not be the best brother in the world, but I care about you and when you're feeling down, I want to help you." Zack stood and climbed up on the pool table, sitting next to his twin.

"Zack... have you ever met someone and just... immediately felt like... like you just _wanted_ them?"

"Sure. All the time."

"I don't mean like that. I mean you want to... spend time with them. You really like them and you feel like time just... slows down until it feels like you've been together forever."

"Wow." Zack stared at him. "No, I've never felt like that."

"Oh."

"Are you feeling that?"

"Yes."

"For someone on this island."

"Yes..." Cody hung his head.

"But... we've only been here for just over a day. You haven't spent any time with any girls except Mikayla... I have to tell you man, she's cute and all but she doesn't seem like the kind of girl you would want."

Cody looked up at Zack. "It's not Mikayla."

"But... you haven't been with anyone else except King Brady."

"Yeah." Tears started forming at the corners of Cody's eyes and burnt his skin as they fell.

"Oh, Cody." Zack said sadly. "It's Brady?"

"I didn't... I mean I didn't even know I..."

"Does this mean... you're gay?"

"I don't know. Maybe."

Zack just nodded and put an arm comfortingly around Cody's shoulders. "Are you ok?"

"No." Cody shook his head and continued to cry. "I don't want to be gay, Zack."

"I'm afraid it's not something you can choose, bud."

"I know... but it's not fair! I'm already the nerdy outcast, and now I have to be gay too?"

"There's nothing wrong with being gay."

"Of course not. But I don't want this! I want to get married, buy a house, and have kids. I want to live in a nice neighborhood and have a great career... I can't... I can't handle being gay. I'm glad that you're obviously not upset about this, but I can't be gay. I can't."

"Dude, you can do all of that with another guy."

"I know but... I just want the typical American life, you know? The American dream." Cody started crying harder.

"Don't you think that's a little overrated?"

"No. Well... I don't know. I've wanted that since I was little. I've worked so hard so I can be myself and now I find out myself is gay. This can't be happening..."

Zack hugged him, letting him cry on his shoulder. "I'm sorry Cody."

"I like him so much, Zack." Cody's voice was muffled.

"I can see that. Does... does he like you?"

"I'm not sure. Yesterday... he said some things that kind of sounded like flirting. And then... on the beach... I thanked him for something and he kissed me."

"On the lips?"

"No, just on the cheek. He said it was how people say 'you're welcome' in Kinkow. But I read this book... it has all of their traditions and customs and there's nothing about that. But then we had breakfast together this morning and... talking to him is wonderful, Zack. He's silly but he's confident and... he looks right into my eyes and he has this smile that just..."

"Cody." Zack interrupted. "The flirting?"

"Oh... right. Sorry, I got sidetracked."

"It's ok, Codes, don't worry about it."

"Thanks. So... all through breakfast he was staring right at me. And then he gave me some of his grapefruit and..."

"Wait wait wait. He gave you some of his grapefruit? Is that a euphemism for something?"

"Euphemism?"

"That is the right word, right?" Zack furrowed his brow.

Cody rolled his eyes. "Yes. But it means exactly what I said, he gave me a piece of his grapefruit."

"Did he just give it to you or did he feed it to you?"

"What do you mean by 'feed'?"

"Did he put the fruit in your mouth?"

Cody sighed. "Yeah."

"Cody," Zack had a _duh_ kind of look on his face as he pulled Cody away from him, "he likes you."

"You don't know that."

"I do, actually. A guy wouldn't just hug and kiss and feed you for no reason. I've used similar tactics."

"But... what if he doesn't... like me as much as I like him? What if he only wants me for... you know..."

"Sex?"

"Yeah. Sex."

"Well... spend some more time with him. That's the only way you can find out what he wants."

"What should I do if he doesn't like me?"

"Then I'll tell him how stupid he is." Zack assured him.

Cody wiped his eyes and laughed. "Thanks, Zack."

"No problem. And... if you need to talk, I'm here for you."

"That means a lot to me."


	5. Illogical Thoughts

**A/N: It's Wednesday! Here's chapter 5 for you :D I finished writing the story and I must say that I am finding it quite difficult to wait to post the updates lol. And did I tell you I have a facebook now? The link is in my profile. It would make me super happy if all of you would add me!**

**Chapter 5 - Illogical Thoughts (Posted 8 June 2011)**

Around lunchtime, Brady came back into the room and smiled when he saw Cody sitting on the sofa.

"Hey, where's Zack?"

"He left with Boomer a little while ago to shoot spit balls at the soldiers training outside."

"Oh, good." Brady sat next to him. "Cody, there's... something I've been thinking about..."

"Ok..." Cody whispered.

Brady scooted closer and put a hand on Codt's neck. Before Cody's mind could register what was happening, Brady was squishing his lips against his. Their mouths opened and their tongues slipped against one another.

They moaned together and somehow Cody ended up on Brady's lap.

"Yeah," Brady panted, "that was definitely worth it."

"Worth what?" Cody gazed into his eyes.

"The risk of freaking you out."

"I am _so_ not freaked out." Cody said, even though he was clearly in shock.

"That's good."

Cody blinked and took a big breath. "You... you kissed me."

"I did."

"Does that mean what I think it means?"

"Probably."

"Wow." Cody stared at him.

"You kissed back." Brady lifted his eyebrows seductively.

"Yeah."

"You like me, then?"

"Very much."

"Good." Brady smiled. "I just have to tell you... I've never liked a boy before."

"Neither have I."

"And I know you just broke up with Bailey..."

"Don't even worry about that." Cody said, settling into Brady's lap. "I broke up with her. And I'm over it already. I'm just a little scared, you know?"

"Scared of what?"

"Everything. You're a guy, and I feel like I should be worried about that, but I'm not."

"Is it wrong to like a guy?"

"No, of course not. But it's... weird."

"Weird?"

"No, that's not the word... It's difficult. I've always been true to myself... but there was this part of me that wanted to be normal. And I know that normalcy is... cliché and overrated, but life has been really rough on me. I just thought that this time in my life was going to be a turning point; I thought things were going to get better. I didn't know this was going to happen."

"Oh... well, if you don't want..."

"I didn't mean it like that!" Cody insisted. "I was just telling you that this is going to take some getting used to."

"So, you'd like to give... _this_... a try, then?" Brady asked hopefully.

"Yes, please."

"Can I kiss you again?"

"Sure." Cody met Brady halfway and covered his lips with his own.

"You're a really good kisser."

"Mm. So are you." Cody whispered into Brady's mouth. "Is this ok? I mean... is it ok for you to be with me like this?"

"Why wouldn't it be?"

"I didn't know if there were... rules... or anything about who you could be involved with. Some cultures don't let royalty be with foreigners. And usually they have to be with other royalty or at least members of the elite. I'm just a kid from America, Brady..."

"Hey," Brady said softly, petting Cody's head, "don't freak out about this. I'm just a kid from America too."

"No, you _were_ a kid from America. You're a king now. And there _are_ rules about these types of things."

"I don't know what the rules are." Brady admitted. "But I don't really care."

"You don't?"

"No. I like you a lot, Cody. I know we just met and I understand that this is gonna be hard for you but I don't know what's happening to me. You've been on my mind since I first caught sight of you."

"Wow. That's so romantic..."

"Are you a fan of romance?"

"Big fan."

"I'll remember that."

Cody laid his head on Brady's shoulder and felt arms come around him. He relaxed at the touch and sighed against Brady's neck. "Do you have any more work to take care of?"

"Nope. I took care of it all this morning so I could spend more time getting to know you."

"I like the sound of that."

X

Cody and Brady spent the next few hours talking. Eventually, Cody fell asleep against him and Brady was content to just feel his chest rising and falling with his quiet, even breaths.

"Hey, Brady," Boomer said boisterously as he walked into the room, "Mason wanted me to tell you that..." he looked down at Brady and Cody, all cuddled up on the sofa. He looked confused for a second, but then he smiled a cute, suggestive smile. "You sly dog, you." he poked Brady's shoulder.

"It's not what it looks like, Boom." Brady said seriously. "We were talking and he just... fell asleep like this. I've been afraid to move because I don't want to wake him up."

"So did you talk to him about..."

"Yeah." Brady gave a shy smile. "We've decided to just go with the flow and see what happens..."

"See? I told you he'd be cool about it." Boomer said. "And I can see why you like him, he's pretty cute for a dude."

Brady furrowed his brows and shifted closer to Cody.

"Woah." Boomer held his hands up. "No need to get defensive, I'm not going to steal him from you or anything. I was just saying he's not a bad looking guy. I'm not gay, Brady, seriously, so don't worry about that, ok?"

"Sorry..." Brady looked away embarrassedly, "I didn't mean to..."

"It's alright, I get it, you're just being protective. But trust me, I'm not after him."

"Ok..." Brady settled back into the comfort of the sofa and Cody's soft weight beside him. "So what did Mason want you to tell me?"

"Oh yeah." Boomer snapped his fingers. "The soldiers have been moved to the temporary quarters outside the castle, so the guest rooms are free now. I already took Zack there and let him pick one."

"Alright. Thanks, I guess I'll get Cody set up in one too..."

"You don't want to be separated from him, do you?" Brady guessed.

Brady shook his head. "This is bad. I can't believe how irrational I'm being right now. I mean, I'm always irrational and irresponsible and whatever but really! This is too much for even me to handle. I just keep having these thoughts like 'I could sabotage the boat so he'd have to stay longer' or 'I could just arrest him and then he'd have to stay here' or something along those lines. And I just... I just..."

"You just what?"

"I don't know..."

"You'd better figure it out soon."

"Yeah."

X

"This room is humungous!" Cody shouted when Brady showed him his bedroom for the remainder of his time in Kinkow.

"You like it?"

"I really do! It's beautiful." Cody looked at Brady and saw his cheeks begin to redden. He giggled lightly. "You're blushing."

Brady just smirked as his blush continued to deepen. "So are you." he pointed at Cody.

Cody gasped quietly and brought a hand to his face, and he could feel the heat radiating from it. "I guess I am."

"Are you embarrassed?"

"No. I'm just a little... nervous, I guess."

"Me too." Brady nodded, cheeks fully red. "I'm not quite sure how to act."

"Um..." Cody stammered, stepping closer. "I think the best thing for me to do right now is be totally honest with you. I really _really_ like you, Brady. So much that my head hurts. And I have to tell you that I am and always have been an extremely logical person. But I've been having the most illogical thoughts since I met you."

"Can you give me an example?" Brady quirked his eyebrow.

Cody blushed deeper and cleared his throat. "Well... uh... right now I keep picturing you pushing me against the wall and kissing me..." he trailed off and looked away.

Brady chuckled and stepped forward. He grabbed Cody by the wrists and led him back, back, back until he was pressed tight against the wall. He brought his head forward and lightly touched his lips to Cody's. Cody's eyes fluttered shut just before Brady deepened the kiss and forced his tongue into Cody's mouth. He explored the hot, moist region and felt Cody cautiously do the same.

"Was that illogical enough for you?" Brady huffed when he pulled away.

"Almost." Cody said with newfound confidence. He ducked under Brady's arms and pulled over to the large bed in the middle of the room.


	6. You Did What?

**A/N: Ok... Um... I just want to put this out there... ravagefan12 is a flamer who is too afraid to leave a signed review. But they reviewed three times and read all five chapters so far. So the joke's on you, bitch. Ha ha ha! Thanks to everyone else who has left me a useful review :D**

**Chapter 6 - You Did What? (Posted 15 June 2011)**

The next morning, Zack woke up with a very bad feeling. And as he always did when he sensed something was wrong, he went to check on Cody.

He went to his twin's room and knocked on the door but no one answered. And he knew how much Cody liked his privacy but he didn't care now or ever really, so he cracked the door open. He saw Cody sitting on his bed, facing away from him and looking out the window.

"Cody?"

Cody stiffened at the sound and then hung his head a little.

"Codes? Are you ok?"

"No."

Zack pursed his lips. Usually he had to really twist Cody's arm to get him to admit when something was wrong. He quickly walked into the room, closed the door behind him, and went to sit next to Cody. Seeing something shiny on Cody's face actually frightened him. "Are you... are you crying?" Zack asked worriedly. Cody cried. It was a fact of life that he'd dealt with since they were born. But he never cried like this. His face was contorted with pain and soaked in tears. Zack started to rum Cody's back. "Cody, what's the matter?"

"Zack, I... I don't know what came over me. One minute I was just standing over there talking and the next I was..."

"You were what?" Zack prompted.

"Here," Cody whispered, "in the bed."

Zack went white as a sheet. "You didn't..."

"I did." Cody covered his face with his hands.

"You slept with him?" Zack was shocked. He must have been having some kind of nightmare. Surely his sweet, adorable, innocent little brother hadn't given it up to some guy he just met.

"Yes."

"Cody..." Zack could do nothing but stare.

"What? You're not going to make fun of me or make some kind of stupid joke about it?" Cody asked bitingly.

Zack wrapped his arms around him and took a deep breath. "Of course not. I may not take it seriously but I know what that kind of stuff means to you. You're the guy who told everyone you wanted to wait until marriage and even then you didn't want to do it until you were settled in and absolutely sure everything as going to work out. You wouldn't even do it with Bailey and you were planning on marrying her and having tons of little genius babies..."

"I know."

"Then why..."

"I don't know! Zack, I had every detail of my life planned out. Even when I broke up with Bailey, I came up with a new plan right away. But I... I totally lost sight of it once I met Brady. I still had it lingering in the back of my mind to keep me from doing... anything like this. But once I had him alone I just couldn't restrain myself. It just... happened. I've never lost control like that."

"So what are you gonna do?"

"I'm not sure. I never got around to asking what he wanted from a relationship with me."

"Did you talk about having a relationship?" Zack asked.

"We did." Cody nodded. "And we decided to just let things go as they will. But I had no idea _this_ was going to happen."

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

Cody took a deep breath and wiped his eyes. "No. I gotta handle this one on my own. But thanks. You're a really great brother, Zack."

"Why do you think Brady likes you?"

"What kind of question is that?"

"The kind a worried brother asks." Zack said pointedly.

Cody sighed. "I really have no idea. I mean, I'm smart, but sometimes I just feel like I annoy people by knowing so much. And I really don't have much of a personality; my sense of humor consists of chemistry jokes and my idea of fun is sitting in on a lecture about philosophical theories. So I can't help but wonder if he doesn't really like me for me, but more just for, you know... But then I remember that I'm really not that good looking so why would he want me for that? He's a king, surely he could find somebody more appealing to satisfy..."

"Cody!" Zack interrupted his brother. "Do you really believe all that?" he asked sadly.

"Would I have said it if I didn't?"

"Jeez... why didn't you ever tell me..."

"Because I was afraid."

"I am so sorry, Cody." Zack said seriously.

"Why? You didn't do anything."

"Yes I did. I'm partially responsible for your lack of confidence."

"You are not..."

"But I am! I didn't know it before and I wish you would have told me but I'm your twin brother! I should have realized you felt this way."

"What could you have done?"

"I could have eased up on making fun of you. To me it was just to be fun, I never meant any of it, but it's obvious you take that kind of stuff to heart."

Cody closed his eyes. "You're not at fault for that. If I was stronger I could deal with it without becoming a sobbing mess over something as trivial as this."

"It's not trivial! I may be a bit of a player but you're not. You wanted something that means something, not just something that feels good. And I respect that!"

"You do?" Cody looked surprised.

"Sure I do. I'm all about immediate gratification, but you value everything so much. This isn't a trivial matter, this is important and I want you to know that I'm not going to make fun of you for it, I'm not going to joke about it, and I'm not going to think any less of you for it. I love you, bro, and I'll always have your back no matter what, ok?"

Cody smiled. "You really mean that?"

"I do, I promise."

"Thanks, Zack. I love you, too."

"So... were you on top or bottom?"

"Zack!"

"What? It's a legit question!"

"You just said you weren't going to make fun of me for it."

"I'm not, I swear. I just think it might help if you tell me about it. Maybe you can work out whatever is confusing you so much."

"Ok, I guess..." Cody sat up and Zack let go of him. "I was... on the bottom."

"I see."

Cody looked at him. "You're really not laughing..."

"No, I told you I was being completely serious."

"Wow. I almost wish you were laughing."

"Why?"

"Because. When _you're_ serious, everything seems scary to me. You joke about everything, even huge things like college and stuff. So when you start being serious, I know I'm in trouble. I like it better when you joke about everything, because it makes it seem like everything will work itself out."

"So... did you ever... fantasize about Bailey?"

"...Not really."

"Really?" Zack asked.

"Yep. I guess I should have figured there was something wrong there. I couldn't even picture my girlfriend/kind-of-fiancée naked. How did I not know I was gay?"

"Maybe you just weren't ready for it yet. Maybe... you had to meet someone who... makes you go crazy like Brady does before your brain would allow you to realize it."

"That is a very profound analysis."

"I was right?" Zack sounded surprised and proud of himself.

"I think there's a good chance you are right." Cody answered.

Zack's eyes went wide as another thought occurred to him. It was a little far-fetched, even for his overly active imagination, but he decided it couldn't hurt to put it out there. "Um... Cody? You... really wanted to wait until you found... the right person, right?"

"Yes."

"Then... is it possible that... well... maybe... Brady could be the one? I mean... is there a chance that you've already fallen in love with him and that's why your conscience allowed you to do it? Because I'm sure marriage and commitment and everything were important... but wasn't love the most important thing you were looking for? So if you found that one thing... the other ones really didn't matter... well not that they don't matter but that you're just so in love with him you saw no reason to hold back."

Cody stared blankly at his brother. "You think I could be in love with Brady?"

"I know you just met and everything, but think about it! There was an instant connection and I know that no matter how bad you _wanted_ someone, you never would have broken your vow to wait until the perfect time. Unless, of course, you met the perfect person before even realizing they're the perfect person."

"I'm in love with him?" Cody asked himself more than Zack.

"That's what it looks like. To me, anyway."

"I think... I think you might be right."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I mean... that would explain everything. Because I don't really feel guilty or sad about it or anything... and you're right, I wouldn't have let it happen if I wasn't certain of my feelings somewhere in my brain. Of course, I thought I was in love with Bailey too..."

"Does it feel the same?"

Cody thought for a minute before shaking his head. "Uh uh. It feels a lot different. It's like... it's like I'm just... happy. Confused, but happy..."

"And, for real, how do you think he feels about you?"

"I don't know. I already told you my theories. But the way he looked at me last night... it was much more than just carnal desire, I think.

"Wow..."

"'Wow' is right." Cody actually gave a tiny laugh. "I'm in love, Zack."

X

"You did WHAT!" Boomer yelled. He and Brady were up in their room getting ready to attend a meeting.

"I stayed in Cody's room last night." Brady answered shyly.

"Please tell me all you did was sleep." Boomer said hopefully, but when Brady gave no reply, he sighed loudly. "I thought you told me you wanted to build things slowly?"

"I did... but we were in his room talking and before I knew it he was undressing me."

"You're blaming him?"

"No, of course not! I... didn't fight him. Quite the opposite, really..."

"Ok, seriously, TMI." Boomer shushed him. "But how much do you like this guy?"

"You have no idea, Boomer." Brady closed his eyes. "He's... amazing. He's smart and thoughtful and he looks so cute when he blushes. I think he's a little shy and awkward, but he tries hard not to be. I'm really falling fast and hard for him. He's so incredible... and as crazy as it sounds... I think he's thinking the same thing as me. We both know it's way to soon to be thinking about love but that doesn't change the fact that I'm thinking it."

"You love him?"

"I'm not sure if I've gotten to that point yet, but I know it's coming up soon."

"And you're _sure_ he returns your feelings? Because if he's just using you or if something goes wrong, both our reputations and the reputation of Kinkow itself will be at stake."

"I know that." Brady said sternly. "I know I'm letting myself be swept away by him but I think he's being swept away by me just as much if not more. Well, that sounds a little conceited, but you know what I mean. I really think he could be my soul mate."

"Ok." Boomer nodded. "If you have faith in him, then so do I."

"Really?"

"Yeah. We're twins after all. And we have to work together to keep Kinkow happy. If we don't support each other, both the kingdom and our family could fall apart. We gotta trust each other. So if you think you're in love with this guy and he's in love with you, then I see no reason to fight it. Just be careful."

"I'll do my best."


	7. Mikayla

**A/N: Ok, it's official. I hate this story... but I want to thank all of you who like it, you really brightened my day :D I finished the entire story a while ago so I'm just going to post them all now to get it over with. Please enjoy :)  
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**Chapter 7 - Mikayla (Posted 26 June 2011)**

At lunchtime Mikayla pulled Cody aside. She flashed a kind smile and told everyone at the table that she just wanted to chat. So she took him outside. And she smacked him across the face, leaving a sharp stinging sensation on his cheek.

"What was that for!" Cody yelled, shocked.

"That was a warning."

"A warning?"

"Stay away from Brady." she glared at him.

"What...?"

She spoke deeply, staring daggers at him. "Brady is _mine_. I see the way you look at him. But he belongs to me, so BACK OFF!"

"But..." Cody stuttered.

"But nothing. Has he told you we're not together? Hah. That's classic Brady, for you. He always lies to the cute ones. But he's taken, so don't get your hopes up. You may think your special, but so did all the others before you."

"Others?"

"Yep." She smiled brightly. "Enjoy the rest of your time in Kinkow." she waved sweetly and walked away acting as if nothing had happened, leaving Cody standing there with shock, fear, and sadness welling up inside him.

He wanted to cry. And scream. And kick things. But he couldn't. Not out here where anyone could hear or see him. And the only way to get back to his room was by walking through where everyone was eating lunch.

So he did. He held his head up and marched by everyone. He didn't look at anyone, but he could feel them all stop and stare at him.

"Cody?" Zack asked. "Where are you going?"

"I don't feel very good. I'm going to go lay down for a little." Cody replied without stopping.

He continued walking and he could feel everyone's eyes on him, but he felt Brady's eyes the most. He could picture exactly what his face looked like. But he couldn't turn to admire it for fear of the impending tears bursting through before he was in private.

Cody simply walked to his room and locked the door. He sat in the middle of his bed. He'd thought he wanted to cry, but suddenly tears evaded him. He tried to force them out, but they refused.

A while later there was a knock at the door. "Cody?"

"Go away, Zack."

"No. Please open the door? I know you're sulking in there. You had you're I'm-trying-really-hard-not-to-cry-in-front-of-all-these-people face on back there and I want to help."

Cody stood and unlocked the door. Zack walked in but Cody didn't move. He just stood there, looking down at the floor. "I'm so confused, Zack."

"Spill it, buddy. You know I'll do anything I can to help you."

"Mikayla threatened me. She told me to stay away from Brady. She said... she said they're together. And that he's just using me because I'm cute."

"What?" Zack asked in a small voice. Then he suddenly filled with rage and balled both his hands into fists. "I'll kill him..."

"Zack!" Cody grabbed him before he could walk out of the room and do something he would regret. "No! Even if it's true, if you hurt him I'll be sad!"

"If it's true? You don't believe her?"

"No."

"Then what's the problem...?" Zack asked, trying to calm himself down.

"I'm ninety nine percent sure she's lying because I'm a threat to her. But there is one small percent of me that's telling me it could be true. I don't want to doubt him... but I am me, after all."

"Why don't you just ask him?"

"I won't know whether he's lying or not. But I'm almost positive she's lying. She has to be. No one can pretend to be as... sincere as Brady was last night..." Cody blushed little at the last few words.

"I see. What are you going to do if they are together?"

"Go back to the ship and try to forget about all of this."

"And if they're not?"

"I'm gonna enjoy every last second I have with him."

"Are you gonna tell him you love him?"

"Yeah."

"Good. But I still think you should ask him about Mikayla. I'll go with you if you want."

"I guess I should..." Cody said absently. "I really hope I'm right."

"So do I. Cody... if it turns out that he is only using you... I want you to know that you're not a bad person and you're not stupid or anything. Because I know you're starting to think you hate yourself right now but you shouldn't. This won't change the fact that you're you and you deserve to find someone who is going to cherish you."

"I'm not so sure about that."

"I am. Come on, trust me on this. I really don't want you feeling bad about yourself. I hate seeing you hurt, Cody."

"Why are you so stuck on this?" Cody asked suddenly. "I'm glad you've been really supportive of me through all this, Zack, but you're really not acting like yourself. I almost wish you'd go back to just joking around about everything."

"Sorry... I just... I'm your older brother. I know we're twins, but I'm still older and it's my job to protect you! I may play pranks on you and make fun of you but if anyone else does that then it's my job to make them stop. But... but all this stuff about being gay and being confused because you're in love with Brady but you're not sure of his feelings... it made me realize that I can't protect you from everything. No one wants to see you smile more than me, Cody, and I know how lame that sounds but it's true! You're _my_ brother and I don't want to give you up to Bailey or Brady or anyone and yet I want you to find that special someone and it's just so sad because I know one day you're not going to need me anymore."

Cody stared at his brother. "Zack..."

"I mean it, Codes." Zack hugged him loosely. "I don't know what I'm gonna do once you don't need me to protect you anymore."

"Zack, I am always going to need you, whether I find that special person or not. You're my best friend."

"Ok..." Zack said happily as he stepped away from Cody. "I don't know about you, but I've had my fill of brotherly love moments..."

Cody laughed. "So have I."

"But I do mean all that stuff I said." Zack said seriously.

"I know. Thanks."

"Alright, so do you want to go talk to Brady?"

"Yeah..."

"You want me to go with you?"

"Would you mind?"

"Of course not. Let's go." Zack turned and left the room. Cody followed close behind as they walked toward Boomer and Brady's room.

They walked in just in time to see Mikayla lean in to kiss Brady. Zack's sight turned red with rage as Cody's eyes filled up with tears. Neither of them even noticed his shocked face as he pushed her away.

Zack ran towards him and knocked him onto the floor. He used one hand to shake him by the collar and had the other pulled back ready to punch him. Brady's eyes were wide with terror.

"Zack!" Cody cried out. "Stop it!"

"Guards!" Mikayla screamed in her best damsel-in-distress voice.

"You jerk!" Zack spat at Brady. "You sleep with my brother and then go kiss some floozy? Say goodbye to your face."

"Take your hands off the King." a bunch of guards announced as they ran into the room. They circled around Zack and Brady. "Let go of King Brady or we will remove you forcefully!" one of the guards yelled.

Brady blinked the shock from his eyes and looked at Zack. Then he looked at the guards and said, "Wait," confusing the guards. He looked right past Zack and locked eyes with Cody as he continued to speak to the guards. "Mikayla, get out."

"I'm not leaving!" Mikayla crossed her arms.

"Then I'll have you arrested." Brady replied simply.

Surprise flashed across her face before she smirked. "The guards won't arrest me. Their commander is my father."

"I don't care. I'm the King and they take orders from _me._ Guards, place Mikayla in a holding cell until Mason returns from his rounds. I'll explain everything to him then."

"But, sir..." a guard started.

"Just do it!" Brady bit.

The guards gathered around Mikayla and dragged her from the room. "Ooh just wait, Brady! I'll tell Daddy about this! You're gonna be sorry!"

"Zack, could you let me up, please?" Brady asked quietly.

"I don't think so." Zack pulled his fist back as if to punch him. But Cody ran over and grabbed Zack's hand and pulled him off of Brady. "Cody, he..."

"I know!" Cody yelled. "I saw too. But I wanna give him a chance to explain."

Zack pursed his lips. "But he doesn't deserve it."

"I'll decide that."

Zack took a breath and looked over at Brady. He looked back at Cody and said, "Ok. I'll let you handle it from here."

"You disappeared this morning." Cody said to Brady.

"I'm sorry. There was a problem with one of the tribes on the far coast. I went there to see what I could do to help. I was hoping to make it back before you woke up."

"But you didn't even come back until noon." Cody's voice started shaking.

Zack felt a tightness in his chest. He was so angry and so sad. He just wanted to beat Brady up and be done with it. But he knew Cody had to take care of this on his own. He thought about leaving them alone, but he had to see the outcome.

"We got lost on the way back." Brady stepped toward Cody and put his arms out like he was going to hug him, but Cody looked away and stepped away from him, so he stood still. "I'm so sorry, Cody. I didn't want to leave you after that, please believe that, but I'm a King. I have responsibilities to all the people on this island. I wanted to come back to you as soon as possible and apologize for leaving in the first place. But I only got back at lunchtime and I didn't want to talk about it in front of everyone, I just wanted to wait until we could have some privacy. And Mikayla took you away and you locked yourself in your room. I wanted to come talk to you but Zack said to wait until he talked to you first. And he's your brother, you know, so I thought it'd be best because I didn't want to upset you any more than I already had."

"That doesn't explain why you were just kissing Mikayla!" Cody said, tears streaming down his cheeks and dripping on the floor.

"I didn't want to kiss her, I swear!" Brady said sadly. "She kissed me and I pushed her away because the only person I want to be kissing is you!"

"Really?" Cody squeaked.

"Yes, really." Brady tried to step forward and hug Cody again and this time he let him. "I was waiting for Zack to come in here and tell me I could go see you when she came in and said she wanted to talk to me. I said ok because I remembered she'd talked to you just before you got all sad and so I thought that's what she wanted to talk to me about."

"What did she want to talk about?" Cody asked, already having a general idea in his head.

"She didn't want me to go out with you because apparently I belong to her. I liked her first so somehow she thought that meant I was her boyfriend. But I told her no and she got all mad and said you were probably just going to break up with me and that's when I realized what she must have told you. She threatened you, didn't she?"

Cody nodded.

"I knew it. That girl is crazy. When I told her I didn't want her she said she wouldn't let anyone else have me and that's when you walked in and she kissed me but Cody I promise I did _not _want to kiss her. I don't like her at all that way."

Cody looked into his eyes. He waited, thinking about Brady's words. He could be lying. But Cody saw that same look in his eyes that he'd seen last night and he just knew he was telling the truth. "I believe you."

"I don't." Zack said.

"Why not?" Brady asked.

"Because! I saw the way Cody was crying over you! And I don't ever want to see that again, especially because of the same person."

"Zack!" Cody said, embarrassed.

Brady looked at him. "You were crying?"

"I... I was scared, Brady. What we did was special and I woke up alone. I didn't know where you were or why you left or... if you had any intention of coming back. I was in a fragile state and..."

"I'm sorry. The last thing I wanted was for you to think I was abandoning you. I've been thinking about you all day."

"You have?"

Brady bent his head down and pecked Cody on the lips. "Yeah." Suddenly Zack's arm came between them and forced them apart.

"Zack, stop it." Cody told him calmly. "I believe Brady and I accept his apology."

"How can you just forgive him right away?"

"Because I..." Cody started, but Brady interrupted him.

"Wait, Cody, I understand why Zack is wary of me. If someone did this to my brother I'd be upset like that too. But Zack I promise I don't ever want to hurt Cody."

"But you did." Zack glared.

"But it was an accident and he forgave me. I know you're worried about him but you don't have to keep your guard up because of me. Look... I'm so glad that Cody has someone like you looking out for him. I feel better knowing he's gonna be taken care of while he's not here with me and I can't see for myself that he's ok. But you don't have to protect him from me. I understand if you don't like me very much right now but you have to understand that you and I share a common goal."

"And what would that be?"

"We both love Cody and want him to be happy."

Zack's face softened and his anger subsided as he heard Brady's words and saw Cody's wide smile. "Love?"

Brady just nodded.

Zack sighed. "That's all I needed to hear."


	8. Departure

**Chapter 8 - Departure (Posted 26 June 2011)**

It was the night before the Martin twins' last day in Kinkow. Zack and Boomer were asleep in their rooms. Mikayla was still in her jail cell until Mason returned from his rounds around the island. And Brady and Cody were in Cody's room.

"I'm really going to miss you." Cody said as he laid next to Brady. His head was on Brady's chest and Brady's arms were around him.

"Me too."

"But I'm going to visit all the time."

"I know..."

Cody looked up at him. "You don't sound very happy about it."

"I am happy!" Brady insisted as he sat up to kiss Cody. "Of course I'm happy. I want you here as much as possible. In fact... I'd like you to stay."

"Stay?"

"Yeah." Brady said enthusiastically. "Think about it. I love you and..."

"Love me?"

"Well yeah... didn't you hear me say it yesterday?"

"I did but I thought it was an accident." Cody said with wide eyes.

"It was, but not because it's not true. I wanted to _tell_ you, not just have you happen to hear it while I was telling someone else."

"Oh..." Cody blushed.

"So..." Brady raised his eyebrows.

"I love you too, of course." Cody smiled.

"I'm glad to hear that."

"But I can't stay."

Brady's face fell. "What?"

"Graduation is in two weeks..."

"Why don't you just go and then come back?" Brady asked hopefully.

"I... I will come back. But I can't stay, Brady. I have to go to college."

"Why?"

Cody blinked. "What do you mean 'why'? I told you I'm going to Yale. I want to get a degree so I can be successful..."

"But you don't have to!" Brady explained with excitement. "I'm a _King_, Cody. I can take good care of you, you wouldn't have to do anything."

"Come on, you know me better than that. I can't just do nothing and let you take care of me..."

Brady frowned. "I know... but Cody..."

"I'm going to spend the summers with you. And all the weekends and small vacations during the school year too! Trust me, I don't want us to be apart any more than you do."

"And what about after you get your degree?" Brady asked.

"Well... there's grad school..."

"So that's another two or three years." Brady said sadly. "And then what about after that? What about when you get a job? There'll be no more summer vacations. All we'll have left is weekends."

"You could come to America to visit me..."

"A few times a year, maybe, but I can't be gone a lot."

"I know... I understand..."

"I'm sorry. This isn't turning out how you planned, is it?"

"No. Not at all. But that's ok. We'll just have to deal with it. We'll see each other every weekend. And summers until I finish school. It's not perfect but it's the best we can do. I don't want to be with anyone else."

"Me either. You're right, any time I get with you is fine with me. But I'll never stop asking you to stay."

Cody smiled. "That's ok. I'll never stop wanting to stay."

"We'll talk on the phone every day." Brady suggested.

"And video chat on the computer when we can." Cody agreed.

"We'll make it work." Brady promised.

"Yeah. We will."

X

"Come on, lovebirds, the sooner Cody gets packed the sooner you two can get to having goodbye sex."

"Zack!" Cody slapped his arm.

Brady just laughed at Cody's bashfulness.

"Oh, come on, Cody, it's me!" Zack said boisterously. "Don't even try to tell me you weren't planning on it."

"It's none of your business how I was planning on saying goodbye to Brady."

"It is, actually," Zack said, pointing to the shirt Cody was wearing, "because that's my shirt and I don't want you guys to get anything gross on it."

"ZACK!" Cody shouted.

Brady laughed and stood behind Cody, starting to lift the shirt off him. "If Zack wants his shirt back so bad, let's just give it to him." He threw the shirt to Zack and wrapped his arms around Cody's waist, kissing his neck.

Cody blushed brightly. "Brady! My brother is in here and the door is wide open!"

Zack closed his eyes. "Ok, I'm outta here." Zack turned and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

Cody turned in Brady's arms and kissed him. "We really should pack my things. Then we won't have to worry about it later when we're... 'saying goodbye.'"

"Can't we just 'say goodbye' now and then 'say goodbye' again later?"

Cody laughed and hugged Brady closer. "I wish we didn't have to actually say goodbye."

"I know." Brady said. "And the offer is still open. If you would want to stay..."

"I do want to stay."

Brady sighed loudly. "I know."

"I'll email you the ship's coordinates for the weekend after graduation so your hot air balloon flyer or whatever will know where to land."

"Ok. But I don't know if I can go two weeks without you."

"You've gone eighteen years."

"That was before I met you though. Now that I know you... it's gonna be real lonely for me around here."

"I'm sorry."

"I didn't mean it like that, I didn't want to make you feel guilty about it. I was just saying it because all week every week I'm just going to be thinking about seeing you. But weekends all of a sudden have a new kind of importance for me."

"Brady..."

"See? I remembered."

"Remembered what?"

"That you're a fan of cheesy romance."

Cody giggled. "I never said cheesy."

"It was implied."

X

"We hope you enjoyed your stay in Kinkow." Mason announced to the SS Tipton passengers. "Aside from a few minor occurrences, I'm sure most of you had a good time. Please take care and come again."

As everyone boarded the ship, Cody stared at where Brady was standing along with everyone else seeing the visitors off. Brady was staring back at him. Cody desperately wanted to just run across the sand, leap into Brady's arms and kiss him senseless, but he couldn't. They'd decided they weren't ready to make their relationship public yet. The only others who knew about it were Boomer, Zack, Mason, and Mikayla. Of course Mikayla had threatened to tell everyone, but Brady told her that if she did tell she would be banished from the island.

"Cody," Zack said, putting an hand on his shoulder, "everyone else has boarded. We have to go."

"Moseby hasn't boarded." Cody said.

"He's waiting for _us_."

"I know." Cody sighed.

"I know you're gonna miss Brady but you'll see him again soon."

"Yeah..."

"Why don't you just go over there and tell him goodbye?"

"I can't. The departure ceremony..."

"Screw the ceremony."

"No. We decided we'd say goodbye beforehand and then I would just leave like everyone else."

"So?"

"So I can't just change the plans."

"Yes you can." Zack argued. "He's probably having the same debate with himself right now. Neither of you just want to leave it like this."

"I'm going to call him later..."

"Then let's go, Moseby is starting to look irritated."

"I don't want to go..."

"Wave to him."

"I don't know if I should..."

"It's just a wave, Cody, no one is going to assume you're a couple just from that."

"But..."

"No buts." Zack said sternly. "You're always planning things, but I think it's time for you to learn that thing don't always go according to plan, especially love. So just make a decision and go with it."

"I guess a wave would be ok..."

"It will, Cody."

Cody nodded and raised his hand, swishing it lightly through the air. Everyone waved back, but seeing Brady wave almost brought tears to his eyes. "Ok. I guess we should go now." Cody turned and walked away with Zack. They walked on the ship, followed by Mr. Moseby who signaled the captain. As the ship sailed away Cody didn't take his eyes off Brady's figure. It got smaller and smaller until it disappeared completely.

"He's not going to stop loving you just because you're gone." Zack told him after about a half hour.

"What?" Cody asked absently.

"I know you're thinking that now that you're gone he's going to stop loving you. I can see it on your face. You've been worried about it this whole time."

"How did you know?" Cody gave a sad chuckle.

"Because. I know you worry about things like that."

"It's so stupid, Zack. I know he loves me and I know he probably misses me like crazy already but... I can't help but think maybe he realized he doesn't love me after all. And I know that he's going to be faithful but I still keep worrying that he's going to get too lonely and seek comfort from someone else. I _know_ none of that is going to happen, I trust him completely and I know he's not that kind of a person, but I still keep thinking about it."

"That's normal, Cody." Zack said. "People are always afraid that the best things in their lives are going to be taken from them. It's only natural that you would think those things even if you know they're impossible."

"What about you?" Cody asked curiously. "What do you worry about being taken from you?"

"Oh, lots of things. My charm. My good looks. My sexy voice."

"Seriously, Zack."

"That should be obvious after everything I said to you in the past few days."

Cody smiled understandingly. "Brady isn't taking me away. You guys will just have to share me. We talked about it and he understands. He's a twin too, after all."

"And there's a fifty percent chance he's the older one." Zack laughed, remembering all the times Brady insisted he remembers being born first.

"True."

"So you really think he's 'the one'?"

"Nope. I know he is, Zack."

"Wow. I'm happy for you, Codes. I just hope I can find someone like that someday."

"You will. And it'll hit you hard. You'll just see them and something inside you will click. You might not know what it is at first... but it's anything like what happened with me and Brady then it won't take long for you to figure it out."

"I don't know. Anyone can fall in love. But I've heard that not very many people find their soulmate."

"I think it's because they're either looking too hard or not looking hard enough. See if they're not looking hard enough, then they don't ever think about anything enough to realize they've found him or her. And if they're looking too hard, they're so focused on what they _want_ their soulmate to be that they completely overlook someone who doesn't meet all of their qualifications."

"Does Brady meet all of yours?"

"Well I always thought my soulmate was going to be a girl, but then I realized I'm gay so that qualification changed, but it wouldn't have changed without him. And he's so far away, but I don't blame him for that and we're working around that. As for everything else, he's completely perfect. But there are things I love about him that I didn't even realize I wanted. Like he's taller than me. That doesn't really matter but I kind of like being the shorter one. And he gets awkward sometimes when I say something... you know... sexual. It's so cute. I just don't like to think about what would have happened if the ship would never have gone to Kinkow. Or if I hadn't won that contest to stay in the castle. I would never have met Brady. Then where would I be?"

"It doesn't matter where you'd be." Zack said. "What matters is you met him and he loves you more than I've seen anyone love someone."

"Zack... what would you say if I told you I'm thinking about staying with him after graduating?"

"Um... first I'd ask if you were really serious."

"I'm completely serious."

"Then I'd have to tell you that... I think you should just do whatever you're heart is telling you to do. I know you've had your heart set on Yale since you first heard the words 'ivy league' but I also know that you want to be with Brady. I'm sorry, but this is one thing I can't help you with except by saying I know you'll make the right choice and everything will work out for you."


	9. Graduation

**Chapter 9 - Graduation (Posted 26 June 2011)**

***FINAL CHAPTER***

**A/N: Thank you to all who read and especially to those who reviewed! I hope at least some of you enjoyed this story :D**

Commencement began with Miss Tutweiler giving a small opening speech about how much she loved this year's class. How proud she was of all the students, especially a certain heiress. And, of course, how much she's going to miss everyone. Then Mr. Moseby got up and gave a similar speech.

After that, Cody and Bailey were called up to give their speeches. Bailey glared at him all through her own speech and his. And during roll call Cody swore he saw her muttering some kind of voodoo curse on him or something.

Then his name was finally called to receive his diploma. He walked up front and shook Mr. Moseby's hand. Then he grabbed his diploma and turned to smile at the crowd so his parents could take a picture.

That's when he saw him. A skinny boy in the third row with jet black hair and a crooked nose was smirking at him. He had dark sunglasses covering about half his face, but Cody recognized him with one glance.

He went back to his seat and waited very impatiently for the ceremony to be over. The graduating class was dismissed first. And as soon as the audience was told they could leave, Cody ran right into the crowd and when he found the boy he'd seen earlier he threw himself at him and attacked his mouth with his own.

"Why are you here?" Cody asked happily when the kiss ended. He pulled the sunglasses off Brady's face.

"I wanted to see you graduate."

"You could have told me you were coming."

"I wanted it to be a surprise. Are you glad to see me?"

"I sure am."

"You realize you just kissed me in front of all these people, don't you?"

"I don't really care. Do you?"

"Nope." Brady smiled. "People are going to find out eventually."

"Uh... Cody..." Zack said as he stood next to them.

"Zack?" Cody look confused. "When did you get there?"

"Um... I walked in with them..." Zack pointed to the people who were standing on the other side of Cody and Brady.

Cody had a sinking feeling in his gut. He knew the look on Zack's face. It was the look he always wore when their parents caught him doing something bad. He turned his head and saw none other than his mom and dad standing there, their eyes as wide as dinner plates.

"Heh..." Cody said, releasing Brady and blushing deeply. "Hey there, Mom and Dad."

"Cody..." Carrie said, the look on her face never changing. "Did you just kiss that boy?"

"Um... well... you see..."

"Technically he wasn't the only one doing the kissing..." Brady said thoughtfully.

"Brady!" Cody blushed darker. "These are my parents." He hung his head and covered his face with his hand.

"Oh..." Brady said. "Well... thiiiiiiiiiis is kind of awkward..."

"Codester," Kurt said, "are you gonna introduce us to your... friend?"

"Yeah. Mom, Dad, this is Brady. And he's not just my friend... he's... my boyfriend."

"Since when are you gay?" Carrie asked softly.

"Since forever. But I only realized about three weeks ago."

"Three weeks ago?" she repeated. "What happened three weeks ago?"

"I met Brady." Cody answered quietly.

"Ah." she nodded. She stuck out her hand. "Nice to meet you. I'm Carrie, Cody's mom. And this is Kurt here is his dad."

Brady nervously reached out and shook her hand. "Nice to meet you too."

"So, Brady, is it?" Kurt stepped forward and put an arm around Brady's shoulders. "Come on, let's walk and talk." They walked away, Brady looking a little scared.

"What's Dad gonna do to him?" Cody asked worriedly.

"Probably just talk to him like any father would talk to his newly-outed son's boyfriend he just met. I'm sure he's just making sure he's a good kid."

"So... you guys don't hate me?" Cody asked, relieved.

"Hate you?" Carrie was almost a little offended. "Oh, sweetie, of course we don't hate you. We love you no matter what."

"See, I told you they wouldn't freak out about it." Zack said proudly.

"You mean you really don't mind that I'm gay?"

"Why would we mind? There's nothing wrong with being gay."

"I know, but..."

"But nothing." Carrie hugged him. "This boy is special to you?"

"Very special..."

"That's all that matters."

X

"He really asked you that?" Cody asked Brady, mortified.

"Yeah..."

"What did you tell him?"

"I lied! I'm sorry but I wasn't about to tell your father that we slept together."

"Believe me, that's fine." Cody said adamantly. "I can't believe he would just ask you that out of the blue!"

"I know. I was so embarrassed, I didn't want to lie but I'd never be able to look him in the eye after telling him something like that."

"Brady, it's fine." Cody kissed him to shut him up. They were on the spare bed in Zack's bedroom. Zack was in Cody's room so they could be alone. "I love you."

"I love you too."

"And I have something to tell you."

"Go ahead."

"I um... I've been thinking about this whole weekends and summer thing and... I've decided I just can't do it."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I'm not going to Yale. I want to be with you, Brady. I want to go back to Kinkow with you and I want to stay. Not just for a visit. I want to stay with you forever."

"Cody..." Brady stared at him. "You don't have to do that... if going to Yale is going to make you happy then I want you to go. I was even going to offer to pay your tuition."

"You'd do that for me?"

"Absolutely. I'd do anything to make you happy." Brady hugged him tightly.

"I appreciate that, Brady, but I don't want to go anymore. Yale would make me happy but being away from you would make me so sad it wouldn't even be worth it."

"Wow. I guess I won't be retiring early then."

"What?"

"I've been tossing around the idea of stepping down from the throne and handing complete control over to Boomer."

"Why would you do something like that?" Cody asked sadly.

"For the same reason you want to give up Yale. Being separated from you is literally painful, Cody. I wanted to ask you what you thought first."

"Don't do it. I won't let you do it." Cody insisted.

"But then you could go to Yale."

"I already told you, Yale no longer appeals to me. I'm not even sad about giving it up. I just want to be with you. And I want you to continue to rule Kinkow. You're young and just getting started but you have amazing potential. They need you."

"I'm going to be busy."

"I know."

"There'll be days when we hardly see each other."

"I know. And I can handle that. But I can't handle the thought of you not being Kinkow's King. I've been planning on going to Yale pretty much my whole life. But if there's one thing I learned from being in love with you it's that plans change. And sometimes it's for the better. This is one of those times. I'd rather be with you in Kinkow than without you in America."

"If you're sure." Brady said.

"I'm definitely sure. I already called Yale and declined their acceptance."

"You did?" Brady was shocked. "When?"

"Three days after I left Kinkow."

"Wow. Do your parents know?"

"They do, actually. I told them about it the next day. That's actually part of the reason I got scared when they saw me with you. I was afraid they'd ask if it had anything to do with you since I made that decision after I met you." Cody explained.

"I see."

"And there's one more thing."

"What is it?"

"Just because I'm giving up Yale doesn't mean I'm giving up education all together."

"What..."

"I applied to Kinkow College. I'm going to go there because I really do like to learn. And even if I don't have to work, I'd still like to get a degree in something in case I would decide to work in the future. That... and Zack has decided to study there as well. I told him I wanted to come live with you in Kinkow and he said that he wouldn't let me go unless he could come too."

Brady chuckled. "You two just can't be separated, can you?"

"No. It's a twin thing. And an over-protective-older-brother thing."

"I get that. Boom and I are really close too. I don't know what I'd do without him. So I guess it's settled then. I'll have the room you stayed in before turned into our permanent bedroom. Boomer can have his room all to himself. And I'll have a room prepared for Zack."

"Thank you so much." Cody kissed him gently again.

"And your parents can visit us any time."

"Eek. They'll never leave." Cody laughed.

"And I'll pay for both of you to attend Kinkow College."

Cody rolled his eyes. "You don't have to do that. It's not that expensive, we can easily cover it with a small loan..."

"Please, Cody? I really want to do this. Just let me handle it."

"Well..." Cody said "Ok. But only because you asked with such a cute face."

"Yay!" Brady smiled brightly. "Thanks. I promise I'm going to make you so happy, Cody."

"You already have."


End file.
